Senate body concerned at massive increase in medicine prices

ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s standing committee on national health services on Tuesday expressed concern over massive increase in prices of various medicines and asked the government to provide relief to public by taking immediate measures.

The committee chairman independent Senator Sajid Hussain Turi, who presided over the meeting, lamented that he had bought a tablet for Rs146, which was previously sold at only Rs53.

“The pricing policy should be seen being implemented and public should be given relief,” he said when State Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar said that for the first time, pricing policy had been introduced, which was paying off too and rates of 194 drugs had been reduced. She added the government was alive to the situation and taking appropriate steps to arrest the trend of price increases.   

The secretary of the ministry informed the panel that a pharmaceutical company, which had increased prices of medicines, was made to pay Rs380 million through the National Accountability Bureau.    

To the shock and surprise of the committee members, the minister disclosed that a suspended director of the Malaria Control had visited her village to offer her Mercedes car and previous clothe as a gift. On this, Senator Mian Attique Sheikh also made a disclosure that on the final inspection of a medical university, a posh car was received as a gift by someone.

The committee also took up the draft amendment bill, moved in the Senate by PML-Q Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed against smoking and formed a sub-committee, which would report back to it with a set of recommendations within a month. It will be headed by Senator Nauman Wazir of PTI, while Dr Ashok Kumar of the National Party, PML-N’s Ghous Bakhsh Niazi and Mian Attique will be its members.

The members of the committee had a shared concern that anti-smoking laws already existed, but their implementation was the real issue. The panel chairman proposed to discourage smoking, prices and taxes on cigarettes must be increased hugely. It was noted there was no clear legislation on sale of tobacco to children at shops.

The secretary health maintained that to ensure implementation of the laws was responsibility of the provinces.    However, at the same time, he insisted that it would have to be seen also how much revenue the tobacco industry generated and how many people were associated with this sector from growth of tobacco to its sale.     

On this remark, the minister pointed out that if this was to be viewed that how many land owners and growers would be affected, then it should also be considered those, who ran gamble dens, also claimed to be earning livelihood.

She said the draft bill should be sent to the ministry along with the committee’ recommendations, the matter would be amicably settled, involving the stakeholders.Senator Nauman said that two tobacco companies paid 90 per cent tax while the rest, which produced counterfeit and substandard cigarettes paid just one per cent tax to the government. He urged FBR to look into this anomaly.

The secretary health told the committee that daily 1200 children were becoming smokers, whereas 300 died every day because of smoking. He added smoking was the cause of 59 per cent deaths and ailments.